In Chicago cabs, more cameras will be along for ride

With partitions deemed useless by some drivers, city will try electronic eyes to cut crime

April 22, 2010|By Daarel Burnette II, Tribune reporter

The next time you open a taxi cab door in Chicago, you may want to say "cheese."

In an effort to thwart crimes against cabdrivers, thousands of small security cameras will be installed in taxis across the city in the next few years to photograph passengers as they get in and out of the vehicles.

Some taxi cab owners have hailed the high-tech move, launched by a change in city ordinances three years ago, as a welcome alternative to ineffective plastic partitions that have been a mainstay of cabs for decades.

The cameras, which already have been used to solve one cab-related crime, are yet another example of Mayor Richard Daley's efforts to blanket the city with electronic eyes in a bid to decrease crime.

About 1,000 cameras have been installed in cabs so far, but more are coming. One of the largest companies predicts all of its cabs will have cameras by 2012.

Selvin Quire, a Chicago cabdriver for almost 30 years, said he feels safer since cameras were installed a few months ago.

"They see the camera, and they hold back," Quire said of men he thinks may have attempted to rob him recently. "They get scared. It's a lot better."

The tiny camera sits above the rear-view mirror and takes a panoramic picture of the cab when someone enters, or when the fare meter is turned on, and as they leave. Cabs must have signs informing passengers they will be photographed. Drivers who feel threatened can push a panic button to get more pictures of the passengers.

Cabdrivers have been victims of high-profile crimes recently. Last month, a driver was shot five times by a passenger in Zion. And on the North Side the same month, a driver was stabbed multiple times. A University of Illinois at Chicago survey in 2008 showed more than one-fifth of Chicago-area drivers said they had been attacked or threatened with violence by a passenger.

City officials tried to quell such crimes in 1997 by requiring that cabs be fitted with bullet-resistant partitions.

But many drivers say the partitions are useless. Most don't keep the partitions closed because they're cumbersome and restrict ventilation. And they say the partitions are awkward for passengers, who scrape their knees as they get in and out of the vehicles, and for drivers, who can't move their seats back.

In the end, cabdrivers say, the partitions didn't prevent crime.

"If someone wanted to rob me, they'll get out, come to the passenger side and shoot me," said Folarin Odusanya, 48, who has driven a taxi in Chicago for 20 years.

In 2007, the city's Department of Consumer Services pushed a change in the law allowing cab owners to install cameras instead of partitions in cars. Chicago followed New York, Los Angeles and other cities that instituted similar rules.

Seattle Consumer Affairs Manager Craig Leisy said crime against drivers dropped by 23 percent after all cabs in the city were required to get cameras.

One company, Toronto-based VerifEye, has a permit to sell taxi cameras in Chicago. The company sold about 900 cameras, which cost $1,250 each, said Peter Salmon, a VerifEye spokesman. There are about 6,700 cabs in Chicago.

Cab companies say they've been slow to adopt the cameras because of the cost. But, as gas prices increase, they are opting for cameras in smaller vehicles that can't fit plastic partitions. And, as technology improves, they're hoping camera prices fall.

Jeff Feldman, president of Taxi Medallion Management, which owns and manages 770 of the city's cab medallions, expects all to have cameras by 2012.

Chicago's Carriage Cab Co. and Royal 3 CCC Chicago Taxi Association are installing the cameras in new hybrid cars.

In 2008, police arrested two teenagers who had stolen a cab after putting out a community alert with images of the teens captured on the cab camera, said Belmont Area Detective Joseph Agosta. The camera captured the teens, one sporting the cabdriver's baseball cap backward, "goofing off," laughing and picking up friends and passengers. The juveniles were convicted of auto theft and robbery.

The cameras must be able to take pictures at night and be tamper-proof. The data are stored in a box kept in a separate compartment. The ordinance allows only police and select officials access to the data.

As more cameras go in cabs, Chicago's reputation as one of the most-watched cities in the country is likely to grow. Cameras already sit on street corners, over red lights, in schools and on city buses. And police officials said recently they want more stealth cameras on city streets.

Illinois ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka, who has opposed the city's campaign to increase camera use, said he doesn't see a problem with cameras in taxis because private companies have a right to try to deter crime.

"A private company can engage to help with safety or loss of protection," Yohnka said. "The key is that they notify their customers that it's taking place."

Cabdrivers said they like cameras because they make the ride more comfortable for everyone.

"I think it's a great idea to help protect drivers who seem pretty vulnerable and unprotected," said Kevin Carter, 48, who works downtown. "Whatever can help catch these criminals and protect drivers is a good thing."